Evaluation of Scientific Advertisements of Pharmaceutical Products as Per UCPMP Guidelines

Background: Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), issued by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, introduced in India after several years of deliberations. The UCPMP is to be voluntarily adopted and implemented by pharmaceutical companies. The main aim of study was to evaluate the scientific advertisements of pharmaceutical products as per uniform code of pharmaceutical marketing practices (UCPMP) draft guidelines Methodology: Printed copies of the journals in Manipal University Health Sciences Library were scrutinised to identify Indian journals containing advertisements. All the selected journals published during the time period from Jan, 2012 to Dec, 2014 were further scrutinised to identify advertisements for evaluation. All the selected advertisements were evaluated for its content as per the UCPMP guidelines and the observations were recorded in the data collection sheet prepared for the study. The collected data was coded and entered into SPSS software. The results are presented in the form of descriptive statistic. Results: Some parameters such as claims-safe (85.9%), no side effect (98.9%), no toxic hazards (99.2%), word new (96.3%), brand name of competitors (99.6%), name and address of company (93.8%), method of administration (71%), method of use (88%), additional information on request (65.5%) and name and photo of healthcare professionals (97.9%) for full ads almost adhere to guidelines. Whereas some parameter such as claims without references (56.8%), date of advertisement (25.3%), adverse reaction, warnings, precaution for use and contraindications (50.2%), recommended dose (55.6%) for full ads do not follow guidelines. Conclusion: The present study has clearly shown the discrepancies in the usage of references for the substantiation of claims made and recommended dose.